Lethargic Indifference
by starsinjars
Summary: It all started when he uttered in that childish voice of his, "Kid, I'm done playing detective." Part II of Pop Psychology Series.
1. First Night

Title: Lethargic Indifference

Summary: It all started when he uttered in that childish voice of his, "Kid, I'm done playing detective". Part II of Pop Psychology Series

Introduction: I take a psychology class. It acts as great inspiration for plots and ideas. Pop Psychology pretty much means, 'Oh, I take Psychology, I must be able to diagnose the people I know with various mental disorders and diseases!' Like that. I write/start these while I'm in class and the information's fresh in my mind. There shall be three (that I know of, or at least that are planned at this point) parts with my different fandoms. I believe the plots get more complex as the next installments continue. Each story is based/is inspired from certain psychological disorders. It is not supposed to be scientifically and technically accurate.

Second one's Detective Conan/Magic Kaito.

* * *

Pop Psychology II: Lethargic Indifference

* * *

_Depersonalization is a feeling of detachment or estrangement from one's self. The individual may feel like an automaton or as if he or she is living in a dream or a movie. There may be a sensation of being an outside observer of one's mental processes, one's body, or parts of one's body. They will have persistent or recurrent feelings of being detached from one's body or mental processes and usually a feeling of being an outside observer of one's life._

* * *

Chapter One: First Night

* * *

Kuroba Kaito, perhaps better known as his persona of Kaitou Kid, was excited. So excited in fact that he was willing to break routine and start his heist right now instead of waiting for the appointed, unofficially announced time. But being the gentleman thief that he was, he waited.

It was an extreme change of mood as just moments before he was depressed, disappointed beyond belief that he was practically dragging himself along to performing the heist, time lagging far behind him.

But all of that changed when he caught sight of the small, red, dangerous sneakers that belonged to his favorite Tantei-kun. Now the heist couldn't come fast enough. If he thought it was so slow _before_...

Finally, after the twenty-sixth heist, the guest of honor finally arrived. Lucky number twenty-seven, he supposed.

Not that he really cared for the details at this point. It was a huge pain to find the gems suitable for his purposes and create unique riddles with various references in between the lines, personally inviting Edogawa Conan to come and pay him a visit. He just _knew _that the Mouri Agency would read them, thus Conan would too. And of course he could translate them. The question was why didn't he take Kid up on his offer? At least, until now.

These Vongola Rings weren't really suspect to hold the Pandora gem, but there were only so many jewels in the island of Japan, and Kaito had to admit that they _did_have a rather interesting back story, with the Italian Mafia.

Finally, the clock chimed 8:13. Kid couldn't help but let out a giggle. He was giddy with glee and excitement.

"You have a _lot _of explaining to do, Tantei-kun," Kid murmured before jumping off the building to start his performance.

* * *

Kid sighed, perhaps all these heists were getting a little out of hand. If they couldn't even catch up with him while _walking_… Those crows _really _needed some sleep.

But it was all Tantei-kun's fault! He refused to come out and play! Perhaps the thief was being childish but not knowing what else to do, he resorted to heists to drag Conan out of hiding. That kid could really keep a personal life hidden. Kaito had resorted to hacking into the police database for any information about the detective, but the name was only mentioned as constantly with Mouri Kogoro Tantei. No other information was available.

There weren't any records on him _anywhere_.

Kid took a breath, and slowed in his footsteps. Finally, he has reached his destination. He opened the door to meet the slight breeze and the light of his goddess, the moon. He was constantly at her beck and call, at her mercy. It was only fitting that Tsukiomi-sama was the one he lived by.

And there, all the way towards the edge looking out the rest of the city, was detective Edogawa Conan, back to the thief and face up towards the sky.

Kid smirked. "So you finally decided to show up." He lifted up his prize. "These Vongola Rings interest you enough to come?" He raised the Sky Ring up towards the moonlight, not really expecting anything but the reflection. He shrugged before lowering it back to his eye level and back into the case.

Distracted, he barely heard Conan say, "Kid, I'm done playing detective."

_Eh? _The sentence came out as soft as the wind, but the thief heard it. Kaitou Kid stared his diminutive rival who had just revoked his status. Tantei-kun shrugged before placing his hands in his pocket. He walked past Kid and back to the door leading back into the building, about to leave the phantom thief who was frozen in stunned silence. Conan reached the door and opened it by a centimeter before Kid quickly closed off his exit. He hadn't yet fully recovered, but he forced himself to move, to find some answers.

"Wh-what are you saying, Tantei-kun?" Kid questioned, holding back the door to prevent the child from leaving. He stared at detective, who refused to meet his gaze and instead stared at the ground.

The wind gushed on the roof in long silence before Conan answered in a hollow voice, "I'm saying that I'm done. I... came here to tell you that. I… I don't care anymore." Kid opened his mouth to reply, but Conan refused to let him, needing to finish. He clutched his head. "Leave me alone already. Stop sending out notices to me, referencing me, involving me… I… don't care anymore," Conan let out a gasp, clutching his head even harder, and kneeled down with a knee to the ground. Before the thief could do anything about it, the detective recovered and picked himself up.

He took a breath, reaching out for the knob. "Now just… let me... leave," he managed to rasp out.

"I-I can't let you leave without a better explanation! What do you mean? You quit being a detective?" Kid demanded of the child who continued to stare at the ground.

"I..." His voice wavered before becoming firm. "Let me leave alone, Kid," he whimpered, "I need to go back."

"Back to where?" Kid leaned down to Conan to finally get the eye contact that he wanted, frowning when the child still continued to evade his gaze. Kid had to grab his chin to look and what he found caused him to gasp.

His eyes were glassy and hollow.

"R-release me!" Conan demanded, ready to throw a fit. "Release me right now!"

Kaito's eyes lingered on Conan's for a few more moments before they heard footsteps from behind the door that Conan was reaching for. After a few moments, Kid finally, reluctantly, released him.

"Don't think that this is the last of me," said Kid hollowly as Conan walked inside without another look back, leaving the door open for the police officers to reach the roof.

When the police arrived as Conan walked away, Kid stared at where the kid was moments before and let out a 'tsk' as he dropped a smoke bomb and jumped off the building. He activated his air glider and flew away, eyes still on the building as he watched Conan reach Mouri Ran, being pulled into a hug he didn't respond to.

The thief's eyes narrowed, thoughts trailing back to the death in Conan's eyes.

"I'm not leaving until I get some answers," he whispered to the sky as he flew away.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	2. First School Day

A/N: Special thanks to _YukikoSuzugawa _for pointing out a HUGE error!

* * *

_"I'm not leaving until I get some answers," he whispered to the sky as he flew away._

* * *

Chapter Two: First School Day

* * *

"Conan-kun, Conan-kun!"

Conan ignored the calls of his name, continuing to rest his head on the desk. His breaths were even and steady, unlike the ones from last night. The events from the night before were hazy, a blur. All he could remember was having to go and meet someone in the moonlight. There was only one person who filled that description.

_"Kaitou Kid_,_" _he whispered, willing for the memories to come to him.

Flashes of white, pain, and images of rings came to him.

Oh, now he remembered. He finally told him. That he's done. He's done with his heists; he's done with the cases that came with being a detective. It was official now. Now, supposedly, he was free.

But something was still off, something was still wrong.

But what?

"Conan-kun!" This time, someone banged on his desk. Conan blinked back into attention as Ayumi called his name, raising his head slightly but stared on the surface and not to her or the rest of the Shounen Tantei.

"A-Ayumi-chan?" he breathed, holding his head. He cleared his throat, looked up and smiled. "What is it?"

"You don't look too good, Conan-kun. Are you okay?" asked Mitsuhiko, with the rest of the Shounen Tantei looking over looking as troubled as he was.

"Edogawa-kun…" Ai said, deeply concerned for the not-child's well being. Something was off about him.

A twinge of pain caused for Conan to flinch. "I'm… fine..." he breathed, placing his head back down on his desk. "Just… not feeling too well." He was beginning to sweat. "I'll be fine as soon as school is over and go over to Eve-sensei." Why wasn't class over yet?

"Well, I know what could cheer you up right now!" claimed Ayumi, standing up from her desk. "We have a new teacher!"

"New teacher?" Genta and Mitsuhiko asked at the same time.

"I overheard that there was going to be a student teacher today to teach us!" Ayumi answered secretly. Or whispered. She turned to Conan, to see if it helped. Conan, not paying attention, went back to sleep, trying to remember more of the night before. This may have discouraged Ayumi, as she pouted and closed her mouth, not willing to finish her story.

"Please tell us more, Ayumi-chan," Ai entered the conversation, taking her eyes away from Conan who continued to take deep breaths with his head on the desk.

"Tell us, Ayumi!" Genta added.

Mitsuhiko nodded. "You can't just leave it at that."

"Well," Ayumi placed her hand to her chin to concentrate. "I overheard it this morning. Because Sensei mentioned it the other day, they were looking for someone and someone asked to take the job. I saw him too! He was the same age as Ran-nee-chan." She smiled. "He actually looks a lot like Shinichi-nii-chan too!"

Ai's eyes widened as Conan rose from his desk at the mention of the name. "W-what?"

"Listen up, everyone!" called Kobayashi-sensei as she clapped to get everyone's attention. "I'll be going away for the next few days, so in order to keep watch on everyone there will be a new teacher until I come back. He also needs this for his class, so be good, okay?"

"Where are you going, sensei?" asked Ayumi.

"Oh, I'll just be visiting family," she answered smoothly. "Now, everyone, please be nice to Kuroba-san, or sensei, I suppose." She waved to the door and in came a high school student with his bag, as if he was going to class with his peers instead of as a student teacher.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Kuroba Kaito. Nice to meet you!" He winked, with eyes just barely trailing over to Conan, who stared at the student-teacher, dumbfounded before quickly placing his head back on his desk. Kaito frowned for a millisecond before he grinned.

Kobayashi-sensei smiled with him. "Let's all get along, hm?" She took a glance at her watch. "Well, I better get going if I want to catch my flight, you all behave now!" She waved before leaving the room, leaving Kaito with at least twenty six year olds.

They, save for one, watched in silence as walked over to the left-hand side of the room. He placed his school bag on the teacher's desk there, which would now be his desk, and began to unpack his supplies. "So..." he said, turning to the board and grabbing a piece of chalk. He wrote the hiragana for 'Kuroba-nii-san'. "You can call me that, instead of sensei." He frowned. "Makes me feel old."

"How old are you, Kuroba-nii-san?" called out another student, specifically Ayumi. She was just so vocal today.

"Hmm, I'm seventeen, actually," he replied, beginning to write out a math problem on the board before deciding to just erase it and go back to his bag. He shuffled around for papers on his desk. "Before we get started, any other questions?" he asked as he skimmed them over.

"Are you by any chance related to Kudo Shinichi?" asked Ai, hand in the air with narrowed eyes. She studied their new teacher, piqued with interest. Kaito was silent for a moment before he turned to the shrunken scientist next to the diminutive detective. His eyes trailed over to Conan, whose head was still on the desk, before addressing his desk mate.

"No, I don't think so," he answered smoothly. "Aha!" He pulled out a stack of papers and began to pass them around. "Now, while I study your names and seating chart, if you could all just fill this out..." As Kaito placed the papers on each of the student's individual desks, he placed a bug underneath Conan's, who continued to place his head down and ignore him. Kaito slightly frowned at this, but there was nothing he could do at this point.

"Hmm, name I understand, but why about food and these random questions about facts on history?" Mitsuhiko questioned after looking over his paper.

Kaito shrugged back at his desk, causing for all the students to do a double-take as they were sure he was just at the back of the class. "I'm testing your skills. After you hand it to me, you guys can go out and play for recess while I go over them."

"… Recess all day?" Genta held his pencil high, determined. "Let's do this!" The rest of the students began to quickly take out their pencils to get started, itching to start their free day of play and no work.

Kaito let out a chuckle before he cleared his throat to bring his class to attention. He placed his finger over his lips and made a _shush_ing sound. "It's our little secret, okay? You all seem like nice kids, I'm sure you can keep it down." He smiled. "As Kobayashi-sensei said, 'Let's all get along, hmm?'" He looked at the clock. "You have ten minutes; no asking anyone for the answers."

The class, save Conan, smiled and began to work diligently on the worksheet, easily filling in the questions about themselves but stumbling on the random trivia ones. Kaito placed his finger to his ear to concentrate on eavesdropping while appearing to be working on some paperwork.

"Kudo-kun?" Ai whispered as she poked him with her pencil. "Do you know him?"

Conan smacked the pencil away, taking out his own before starting to fill out his own worksheet. "Don't call me that," he snapped, starting to fill in some answers. "And no, he might look exactly like Shinichi-nii-chan, but I don't know him."

"Kudo-kun -" Ai said, urgency in her voice. Now she was really concerned. No one could hear them, why was he addressing himself in third person?

However, someone _was _listening, and Kaito was confused as to why she called Conan 'Kudo'. Sure, he knew the two were distantly related, but Conan didn't have any direct name affiliation with 'Kudo'.

Or did he?

"Stop calling me that," Conan interrupted, stuck on a question. He began to chew absentmindedly on his pencil, deep in thought. Realizing what he was doing, he immediately stopped. Since when did he bite pencils? Who knows where they have been! He poked his desk mate with the slightly wet writing utensil. "Hey, Haibara-san," he said, "Do you know the answer to number five?"

"..." Ignoring the honorific that was attached to her name, Ai looked back on her own paper. "... You don't remember how to spell 'detective' in English?"

Conan made a face. "I'm not good at writing, remember?"

This caused for Kaito to make his own face as he fumbled on his paperwork.

Things were more serious than he thought.

* * *

Kaito hummed to himself as he sorted out some papers, searching for anything involving an 'Edogawa Conan'. Why was there so much paperwork for these children? It's not like he was a Mafia boss or anything. Before he could continue with his internal monologue, a knock was heard on the door.

"Come in," he called, finding the papers he wanted and tucking them into his bag. The door opened in just after they were secured and inside walked in Conan.

"What are you doing here, Kaitou Kid? What have you done with Kuroba Kaito?" the detective questioned bluntly but dully.

Kaito internally chuckled to himself at that question, but this wasn't a time for games. "So direct, never had a thing for subtlety did you?" Kid commented, stacking up the papers and placing them back on the desk in a neatly fashion.

"… Answer the question; I'm running late." Conan shuffled his feet at his place before looking at his watch.

"Running late? For what? Meeting Mouri-chan?" Kid questioned, eyeing his temporary student.

Conan refused to meet his gaze. "What are you doing here?"

"I've always wanted to try and be a teacher," Kid replied, smiling as he stood up from the desk. He brought a recent test to Conan's attention. "Look at how lucky you are! An almost failing score!" Kid narrowed his eyes. "But we both know that you could have done better."

Conan tilted his head before frowning. "I don't know what you mean. I suck at writing," he answered, eyes back to the door. "I need to go; I'm going to be late." He started to walk back to it, but Kid grabbed his wrist. Conan flinched at how strong it was.

"Says one who can solve my riddles that are in various languages." Kid narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing? What happened?"

Conan started to shake. "No-nothing. J-just let me go, I need to go." He struggled to leave but Kid wouldn't let him.

"Let me see them." Kid brought himself to Conan's eye level, who in return closed his eyes tightly. "Let me see!" He started to shake the child in his arms.

"P-please," Conan cried, "I need to go..."

"I'll let you go when I see your eyes," Kid replied, feeling himself breaking along with the child.

"F-fine." Conan opened his eyes to show Kid the same dull orbs as the ones from last night.

"..." Kid placed a piece of paper in Conan's bag. "Give that to Mouri-san. As a teacher," He watched Conan carefully, who was starting to sniffle. "I need to speak to her about your grades."

"N-no… Why? Why didn't you leave? Why can't you just leave me alone!" Conan cried, shaking as he moved to leave. "I… I need to go."

"Feel free to leave, Tantei-kun," Kid said as Conan reached the door and was halfway through when he looked back. He watched as Kid sat back on his desk chair and crossed his legs.

He continued, "But until I figure out what's wrong, I'm not going to leave."

Conan said nothing in reply as he dashed away to meet his appointment. With whom, Kaito had yet to find out, but he was sure that he would find out eventually.

This was one mystery that the thief will have to figure out for the detective's sake.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	3. First Conference

_This was one mystery that the thief will have to figure out for the detective's sake._

* * *

Chapter Three: First Conference

* * *

"S-Shinichi?" Ran stared at the silhouette by the window.

Kaito turned from his spot, eyes leaving the Shounen Tantei to speak to the teen in loco parentis. "Do I really look that much like him?" He produced a mirror and studied his face. After a few moments, he addressed Tantei-kun's guardian, "I'm assuming that you are Mouri-san?"

"Oh, yes." Ran blushed, looking away. Kaito heard her mumble, "You really do look a lot like him…" before clearing her throat. "Sorry about that. Anyway, what's wrong with Conan-kun?"

Kaito looked towards the window. "Yes, Conan-kun… Have there been any changes in the past month? Any change in schedule?"

She smiled. "Well, I suppose that they didn't tell you. But what does it have to do with anything?"

"Have you seen his grades, Mouri-san?" Kaito took out various amounts of tests, motioning her to come and see them. "Take a look at this."

Ran did so. "… I don't get it. Conan-kun's grades seem normal to me." She commented, comparing the various amount of test grades varying from many subjects with many grades.

"Look at this, Mouri-san." Kid picked out two tests. "See?"

Ran studied the papers and compared the two. "… Still don't get it. Conan-kun's always been bad at writing."

He frowned at this answer."Look," Kaito pointed an old test paper. "See? It's barely there, but the correct answers are hidden underneath the wrong ones. Erased. But now look at this one." He pulled out another, more recent one. "This one there are no correct answers at all. Something happened."

"I still don't understand." She thought hard, but couldn't come up with anything. "What's wrong with Conan-kun?"

"Just tell me, please." Kaito was desperate. "Did anything happen recently?"

"I… Well, I…" Ran quivered. "After a case, there was just so much blood, and Conan was unfazed by it at all. Even I passed out from the gore and horridness that it was! And he even gave away some hints and helped my father and the police solve the case, even performing some demonstrations that my father set up to prove who the murderer was! No matter how much their pride won't let them see it, I can! Conan-kun's never been normal, but it was just too much." She wiped her eyes of the tears that started to fall, but Kaito was too focused to offer her words of comfort or even a handkerchief to wipe her tears away with.

"So what happened?" he asked, wanting - _needing _- to find out.

"So I, I..." She trailed off, looking away from the student teacher.

"_What happened?_" he pressed, needing to know.

"I brought him to a therapist!" she confessed, voice loud. "I brought him to a therapist to talk about everything that has happened. The cases, the death, the murder, his friends, his family, even perhaps the heists with Kaitou Kid."

Kaito had no comment.

"At first he fought it, refusing to go, until I made him go. It didn't seem to be working, but after a few sessions, he started to become like a regular child. He stopped going on the cases, and my father's business may have decreased because of it."

"..."

She shook her head, easing away the doubt that she had perhaps done the wrong thing. "But Conan-kun's finally like a regular kid! But..." Ran trailed off once more.

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"Well it seems to be working. Conan-kun's more lax and childish, which I don't mind at all. He seems a little… _off_, though." She frowned. "I just can't place my finger on it."

Kaito just let out a hard smile. "I'm sure that you couldn't." He nodded numbly, looking over to the clock. "I have another appointment in a few moments; thank you for explaining to me about Conan-kun."

Ran just nodded back, getting up to leave. "S-sure..." She left without another word.

After the door closed, Kaito swiftly got up and packed his things. He needed to find that therapist.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	4. First Session Part I

_He needed to find that therapist._

* * *

Chapter Four: First Session Part I

* * *

"Everything alright, Conan-kun?"

Conan nodded, in a daze, before pausing. He started to tremble and, hesitantly, began shaking his head.

The doctor blinked, a smile starting to turn into a frown. "No? What happened?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but quickly bit on his lips harshly, making it bleed. He shook his head, refusing to answer.

A hand gently massaged his chin, coaxing for him to ease on his self-harm. Tears began to leak out of his eyes before he quietly answered as the hand was taken back.

The therapist placed an ear to his lips. "What was that?"

"Kaitou Kid," he whispered, shaking and hating himself for caving in so quickly.

The doctor frowned, retracting from Conan and tsked before taking some notes on the clipboard. "We'll have to fix that."

Conan widened his eyes. His voice was shaky and low when he whispered, "Pl-please, don't..."

The therapist tapped the hard cardboard on the child's head gently. "I believe I was speaking to Conan, no?"

The child in question began to struggle and kick his feet, wearing only his white socks. He glared hard at the doctor, determination burning in them. "No! No you're not! I'm -" The doctor quickly injected something into his forearm, making him slump. Conan trailed off before lowering his face. "... Yes."

The doctor picked him up from the bed and placed him a chair, moving the leather straps around his limbs.

Regaining awareness, he started to sob before moving to struggle again, but now struggling against the restraints. "Wh-why are you doing this?"

The therapist was not happy. A cell phone was retrieved from the lab coat. "I'm calling Mouri-san, you need an extended session. This needs to end now."

Conan continued to sob, so the therapist left the room so that he couldn't be heard on the phone.

* * *

"Eh? Conan-kun? Oh, you mean Eve-sensei!" Ayumi told Kaito, who hung onto her every word.

"Eve-sensei?" he asked, needing to know more. "Is that whom Conan-kun has been meeting up with for the past couple of weeks?"

Ayumi nodded. "Yep, yep! After school, Conan-kun's picked up by Ran-nee-chan and they go somewhere. Conan-kun says it's to meet up with Eve-sensei." She frowned. "It's horrible because Conan-kun's doesn't play with us anymore."

"Who is Eve-sensei?" He pressed on.

Ayumi shook her head. "I don't know, but Ran-nee-chan said that she's Conan-kun's doctor. We asked if we  
could come, but they said no. We even tried following them! But with Conan-kun, it's hard to get anything past him." She shook her head.

"Has Conan-kun been... different ever since going to see Eve-sensei?" Kaito asked, keeping his tone to be just simple curiosity.

Ayumi thought about it, frowning even more. She looked around and seeing no one in particular, motioned for Kaito to bend down. He did so and she whispered in his ear, "Well, don't tell anyone, but Ran-nee-chan told us that we shouldn't drag Conan-kun to our cases anymore. And it's hard to solve anything without Conan-kun! Sometimes Ai-chan helps out but usually she doesn't come either, staying home with Agasa-hakase. So we actually end up staying there now, since we can't do the cases without Conan-kun."

Eve-sensei must be the therapist that Ran sends Conan to. The question is what exactly happens during  
those sessions? Conan seems eager to get to them, but why did he crave the therapy? He would have never decided to quit his passion; it was what he loved doing most. This... Eve-sensei… she must have done something awful to Tantei-kun to make him quit.

Kaito absorbed the information, mind swirling with questions that he couldn't ask of the girl in front of him. "Thank you, Ayumi-chan. This means a lot."

"No problem, Kuroba-nii-san!" Ayumi bubbled. She turned back to the playground. "I'm going to go play with my friends now! Ja ne!" She ran off without another word. Kaito's eyes followed her before he caught the eyes of  
Haibara Ai, and taking the shivers that went down his spine a sign, quickly looked away. Man did that girl have a glare.

She was also... different somehow. Like how Edogawa Conan was different. They were too bright for their age; it was almost suspicious. But then again, she was the one calling Conan 'Kudo'. Where was that high school detective lately?

He couldn't be… dead, could he?

"When Mouri Ran decides to be protective, it's really hard to get anything past her."

Kaito jumped as he found himself face to face with that mysterious child almost on par with the chibi detective. Almost, but not quite. "A-Ai-chan, you scared me!"

"It's really hard," Ai continued, "But it's not impossible. Here." She handed him a piece of paper, but Kaito made no move to take it. She sighed. "While she does have a certain amount of affection for me, it obviously is not as much affection that she holds for Edogawa-kun." She looked Kaito over, scrutinizing him. "Although you may be different, as you hold an uncanny similarity to her beloved."

_"You really do look a lot like him…"_

Her... beloved?

Kudo Shinichi?

"Help him because I can't," she whispered, tone serious. "Something's off but I don't know what, and..." She stumbled on what to say. "Ran... nee... chan... is making things difficult. Good luck." She stuffed the paper into his hand before she ran off to join the rest of the Shounen Tantei minus Conan by the jungle gym. Kaito stared at them for only a few more moments before looking at the paper in his hand.

It was an address.

"Memory's Skyscraper at 27 Wayward Way."

He crumpled the paper before stuffing it in his pocket.

There was no time to lose.

* * *

Conan wheezed, struggling against the restraints, but his efforts were much weaker than before. His head was hot and his mind was all fuzzy. "Stop, please..." he pleaded, resorting to mere begging.

The doctor smiled sadly at him as another needle was readied. "It's too late for that I'm afraid." It was inserted in his arm with a gasp, and Conan closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kudo-kun."

* * *

"Do you have an appointment?"

Uhh... "Not for me, no. I'm waiting for someone."

"Name?"

"Kuroba Kaito, waiting for Edogawa Conan."

The secretary looked up from the computer and Kaito's blood ran cold before the glare was lowered back to the LED screen.

Those eyes... were the eyes of someone who had lost all hope in the world.

It was almost similar to Tantei-kun's that night. Almost, but not quite.

Kaito realized that the man was talking. He blinked back into focus - this wasn't a time to zone out! "… First time Mouri-sama sent someone else over to pick this kid up," he said, typing a bit some more. He read the lines on the computer before asking, "Were you informed that Conan-kun was given an extended session?"

This was a perfect opportunity to snoop around. He shrugged sheepishly. "Must've slipped her mind. She's kinda preoccupied at the moment - I think she's with her father on a case."

"Ah, the joys of being the daughter of the great Sleeping Kogoro, huh?" The man gave a dry laugh. "People dropping like flies in his presence. I understand why she would send this child here." He shook his head before going back to the monitor. "No one should have to see death on a daily basis, especially at such a young age."

Kaito was starting to feel uncomfortable. As if he didn't constantly tell Tantei-kun that himself on their many rendezvous on the roof.

But the child that never acted his age would always answer, '_I just can't do that. I may not know your reasons, but I can't stop being a detective and letting Oji-san take the credit like how you can't stop being Kaitou Kid._'

The question that Kaito always wanted to ask was: How much did the chibi detective know?

But instead Kid would reply, '_There's no specific reason; the spotlight's just fun._'

What shocked him most the last time that they met, their last meeting before the Vongola Ring heist, was Tantei-kun's whisp of a reply just as he jumped off the building. '_Liar._'

And it was after this certain tête-à-tête that Kid would try to drag Conan out of hiding, to continue this conversation. Only to find that Conan had quit his job of being a detective.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "I… I don't mind waiting. What time will the extended session be over?"

The secretary checked the computer again. "There's only ten minutes left. Please wait in the room to the left and do not leave the area."

Pssh, as if that was going to stop him. "Where's the restroom?"

The secretary pointed to a nearby door. "Have fun killing your ten minutes."

'Killing', he said. Interesting choice of words. Oh, Kaito was going to utilize this time, not waste it. "Thanks." He entered the empty room and walked over to the seat closest to the door leading to the inner wards, mentally scheming on how he was going to do this when the door leading to the inside opened.

"Emergency," a doctor said as she made her over to the secretary, in no hurry at all. "My patient's unstable. I need the relative."

"She just left," the doctor said dully. "At your request."

The doctor rolled her eyes. "Well then, get her on the phone."

The secretary sighed before slowly picking up the phone. Kaito watched him start to dial before rising from his seat and rushing inside before anyone could notice and the door closed shut.

He dashed down the hall, searching for any hint as to where Conan would be, and turned his head when he heard an antagonized scream deep from the inside. A scream of a voice that sounded very familiar, even if he'd never heard it in this tone before. He ran towards it as the shrieks continued.

"Tantei-kun!"

* * *

_To be continued..._


	5. First Session Part II

_He ran towards it as the shrieks continued. "Tantei-kun!"_

* * *

Chapter Five: First Session Part II

* * *

It hurts. It hurts!

But the pain was greatly appreciated. It was numbness that scared him.

He'd rather be dead than accept this fate.

Shinichi couldn't bare it anymore. He continued to struggle, fighting against the restraints as the IV continued to feed the drug into his system.

He couldn't help but scream when the cold chill started in his fingers.

* * *

Where? Where! Kaito was frantic. Tantei-kun was in more trouble than he thought. What was Ran thinking? How could she try to take away something that made the detective who he was?

Another scream further down the hall reminded him that now wasn't the time to think of such things. Kaito threw caution to the wind as he dashed to where the source was.

This door; this was it. Kaito barged in, not even thinking if anyone was inside.

Luckily for him, there was only the person he was searching for was seated on a dental chair. Conan continued to scream, not realizing that there was additional person in the room as his fingers itched to take out the needle in his arm against the leather restraints.

Kaito was frozen as he watched the child thrash about. His eyes... were burning with determination and...

Was that… fear?

But at least he was no longer a hollow shell.

The teen was by his side in a heartbeat and removed the IV as quickly and gently as possible, taking out a handkerchief in his pocket to cover the wound. He pressed the white fabric on the child's arm as he moved to undo his restraints, Conan still shrieking in his ears.

"Tantei-kun, it's fine! I'm here to save you!" Kaito hissed in his ear, trying to calm the child down. He didn't want to bring any attention to them, but the constant yelling was starting to ring in his ears.

Conan didn't cease his screeching, but now that his hands were free he scratched at where the handkerchief was, where the needle previously was. Kaito grabbed his hands when he started to bleed from constantly scratching raw skin.

"Take it out!" the child exclaimed, reaching out for the blood. "Take it out!"

Kaito couldn't move the child until he had calmed down somewhat. "It's out!" he harshly whispered, nerves tingling. They needed to leave soon. "It's out; please calm down."

"It's not!" Conan yelled, still trying to scratch at his skin. "It's in me! Take it out!"

Kaito looked up to the IV and its contents. "The drug?"

Conan fidgeted before taking deep breaths, trying to calm down. He closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them again. Shinchi continued to breathe slowly. Who knew how long he would be in control? He looked up to Kaito, and gave him a very small smile before letting out a shaky laugh, slightly delirious from his whole ordeal.

"Thank you for saving me, Kid, but we don't have any time to lose. We need to get out of here," he replied in a shaky breath, still trembling but much more relaxed than just a few moments ago. Kaito was impressed at his ability to adapt as he watched Conan hugged himself for a moment before quickly removing his arms, wiggling his fingers.

Kaito figured that this was calm enough. Perfect timing too; his senses were tingling and he could hear footsteps from the hall. His eyes danced around the room, searching for something, _anything_ he could use for their escape. After a few moments, he grinned when he found it.

"Press the cloth against the wound and don't say a word," Kaito whispered as he picked up the child and jumped on the dental chair. He quickly moved to remove the door over the air duct so that they could get out.

Hurry, hurry! He just removed it and moved to place Conan inside before him when the child's gaze caught him.

They were back to glass.

"Kuroba... nii... san...?" he asked, confused.

There was no time for this! He picked him up and placed him inside. "Shhh, Conan-kun," he comforted, "Just trust me and everything will be fine."

"W-where's... Eve-sensei?" he asked, moving slowly to get out of the air duct. "Eve-sensei?" He reached out and Kaito quickly moved to prevent him from doing so.

"Shh," Kaito placed his finger on the detective's lips. "I'm going to get you out of here."

Conan just stared at him point blank and Kaito used that to his advantage. He quickly crawled inside and pushed Conan along so that they could leave this wretched place. He heard someone enter the room - the doctor most likely - who slammed what Kaito assumed to be a clipboard and moved even faster. If Tantei-kun knew that who was most likely Eve-sensei was back in the room, he may want to go back.

Even if he wanted to leave so badly before.

* * *

Eve-sensei's eyes trailed over to the air duct in the ceiling, but did nothing about it. Instead, she moved to retrieve the clipboard she had dropped, jotted some notes down, and left the room.

She needed to go and check some security tapes.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	6. First Goodbye

_She needed to go and check some security tapes._

* * *

Chapter Six: First Goodbye

* * *

"Kuroba-nii-san, what are you doing?" Conan asked as the teen tended to his wounds. The child swayed, and Kaito held him steady. Shit, he'd lost a lot of blood.

"Just trying to stop the blood, Conan-kun," he quickly replied, wiping away the liquid. So much blood...

"Where are we, Kuroba-nii-san?" Conan asked, looking around the room. He'd never seen it before.

"We're at my house," Kaito replied, tying the bandages. He handed the child a glass of water. "Drink that; you're really dehydrated and need some water in your system. ." There wasn't much he could do to remove the drugs in his system. He had to flush it out himself.

Conan was hesitant but took a sip before gulfing the whole glass down. "Pwuah, I was thirsty," he said, holding out the glass. Kaito quickly refilled it with the water pitcher he had on hand. He kept muttering his mantra, "Keep drinking, Tantei-kun, just keep drinking." Kaito said it more for himself than for Conan himself. He was still shaking, nerves on edge.

Conan stumbled, dropping the glass as he held his head, water splashing onto Kaito's floor, not that he cared. "Ugh, don't call me that..." he whimpered, closing his eyes tight.

"Tantei-kun..."

Conan opened his eyes and Kaito found them to be tired, but no longer glassy. "... Kid," he breathed, voice low indicating that he was serious and was staring at the water pitcher with a great passion. He raised a hand to it. Kaito quickly handed it to him and Conan placed his face in, attempting to drown himself. Kaito widened his eyes as he quickly took it back, Conan coughing as his lungs quickly got back the oxygen it was denied.

"Stop... I need to do this." His throat was hoarse. He reached out for the pitcher again, but this time Kaito put a lid on it, stabbed in a straw before handing it to him.

"You need to drink water," Kaito said, voice dead. Conan refused to take it, however, folding into himself and shivering.

"She's trying to kill me," the child whispered, "She's trying to kill me off."

"Who?" Kaito whispered back, trying to unfold the child in vain.

"Vermouth..." Conan managed to get out before clutching his head again. "No, stop, I won't let you!" he exclaimed, tone more childish. "Don't be selfish, Shinichi-nii-chan!" After a pause, he continued, "I'm not being selfish," the chibi detective replied to himself, tone serious. "You were never meant to exist anyway. She screwed everything up." After a split second of silence, the child whimpered, "... No way..."

Kaito stared, very confused as the child stayed silent after that rather interesting conversation. He didn't know what to think about it. But then he thought he heard his name. "... What?"

"Please, Kid... Hurry, take out the drug. I'm losing..." Conan begged, looking into Kaito's eyes and the thief watched as it constantly shifted from glassy to a dying will. Conan bit his lip, shaking his head. He smiled inanely. "No, what am I saying? It's over. Just kill me. Kill me now."

"... Why...?" Kaito whispered, his eyes wide. How could the detective request such a thing?

"She's erasing me," Conan whimpered, clutching his head. The chibi detective moved his hands to his neck, an attempt to self-strangle himself, and Kaito just stared at him, too stunned to stop him. Conan looked up to him and the teen watched the slightly dead eyes twinkle with a bright spark before he let out a hollow laugh.

"That was rather selfish of me, wasn't it?" he asked as his chuckles quieted down and he lowered his hands. "I'm sorry; I'm starting to slip. I thought that I could do it, but I can't." He reached out for Kaito and started to cough as the thief took his hand.

"Kid... No, Kuroba Kaito... you revealed yourself to me, didn't you? You cared about me enough to do so?" Conan laughed once more, tone of delirium. "Wh-why?"

Why? "Be-because," Kaito replied, squeezing on his hand as if he was speaking to someone on his dying bed. "Because you're someone precious to me."

Edogawa Conan was a strange person. At first he was just a child, a nosy child forced to tag along with his uncle for his work, but there was something about the way he presented himself that drawn Kaito to him as he saw through Kid's deceptions and illusions. He was special. He was the reason why he accepted the challenge of the Blue Wonder.

He made his heists actually fun.

"You... you are too," Conan rasped, squeezing the hand back. "You were one who still treated me like an adult, as if you knew who I really was."

Kaito blinked. Really... was?

"It was as if you knew that I was Kudo Shinichi," the shrunken detective whispered to answer the confused look in his eyes.

Before Kaito could truly absorb what he was told, Conan gave him an extra hard squeeze.

"Goodbye, Kuroba Kaito. I..." He took a breath. "P-please, don't leave him alone. I - " His breath hitched for a moment, and Conan closed his eyes. His grip previously death-tight suddenly was gone and Kaito squeezed him back, tight. He took hold of his shoulders and started to shake him.

"Tantei-kun? Tantei-kun!"

When Conan opened them again, the glass was back. Kaito deflated and dropped the water, making his floor all wet.

"... Kuroba-nii-san, why did you take me to your house?" He gasped. "Did you kidnap me?" He pushed him away. "Ack! Pedophile!" He jumped off the couch and ran out the door.

Kaito stared after him, lingering feeling in his hand was still tingling, but made no motion to go after him.

Tantei-kun… No, Kudo Shinichi... was gone.

* * *

"Are you finished yet?"

"Yes," Vermouth curtly replied on the phone as she erased the tapes of the interaction of Kuroba Kaito and her patient as Eve-sensei. "The threat is now gone."

"Good." The voice sounded amused, but caught her strange tone. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied without a hitch, watching the deleted clips before they were gone forever. "Just curious how the search for the Pandora Gem was going."

The voice laughed. "As if you even need it. Regardless, excellent job, as always. Another potential Silver Bullet has been removed. I'll expect you back shortly."

She bit her lip. "Hmm," she said, but _Anokata_ had already hung up the phone. She focused on the image of Kuroba Kaito just as it was erased. "I wouldn't say that just yet."

* * *

Kaito squeezed his hand that just a few moments ago was in close contact with Edogawa Conan, knowing what he must do. He dashed out of his home and after the child.

"Conan-kun, please wait, you've got it all wrong!"

Conan stopped, turning back to Kaito, allowing for the teen to catch up to the child. As he caught up with him, he took a breath before trying to explain the situation in a sense so that Kaito wouldn't look crazy and so Conan would trust him again.

After all, Kaito needed the child's trust if he was going to help Shinichi come back.

* * *

_Pop Psychology II: Lethargic Indifference _End

* * *

A/N: Perhaps there will be a sequel, perhaps not. We'll see.

Pop Psychology III will be from the KHR fandom and will be multi-chaptered.

Thanks for reading!


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